In the manufacturing process of liquid crystal displays and the like, a large-size glass substrate is subjected to a vacuum treatment such as a heating treatment and a deposition treatment. Therefore, a variety of vacuum treatment apparatuses have been developed. In one of them, a carrier-circulation-type in-line sputtering apparatus is used for depositing an ITO film (an electrode film) on the color filter side of the liquid crystal display (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Sputtering apparatuses include a type of sputtering apparatus in which a glass substrate after sputtering is rotated or traversed in the vacuum and is then returned in the vacuum (a vacuum return type) and a type of sputtering apparatus in which a glass substrate transferred from the vacuum to the atmosphere is rotated or traversed and then returned (an atmosphere return type). In addition, there is also a type of sputtering apparatus in which carriers opposed to each other are transferred through the vacuum, sorted by the rotation mechanism on the atmosphere side, and returned one by one (an atmosphere return type on the double-side deposition system). Here, an atmosphere return type sputtering apparatus includes a vacuum apparatus that creates a vacuum state for depositing a thin film on a glass substrate by sputtering, and an atmosphere transfer system that transfers a carrier outside the vacuum treatment apparatus, on the carrier is mounted a glass substrate before and after deposition. In the atmosphere return type sputtering apparatus, there exists a region (an inner court) surrounded by the vacuum treatment apparatus and the atmosphere transfer system. The glass substrate is attached to a carriage called a carrier for a stable transfer of the glass substrate in the sputtering apparatus.
In the atmosphere transfer system, a carrier is transferred by a conveyor. In a mechanism of the conveyor, a rack & pinion or rollers are used as a lower support mechanism and, as required, a non-contact mechanism using a magnet is used as an upper support mechanism. Here, to avoid cracking of the glass substrate mounted on the carrier, an occurrence of particles from the carrier, and a transfer trouble, the alignment of the transfer line of the conveyors is adjusted with special priority. To avoid the alignment discrepancies and the displacement of the transfer line over time, and for easiness of adjustment, the lower support mechanism and the upper support mechanism are attached onto the same frame, and the frame is firmly fixed onto the floor surface once it is adjusted, to thereby prevent displacement.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, First Publication No. 2002-309372 (FIG. 4)
In the in-line type deposition apparatus described in FIG. 4 of the aforementioned Patent Document 1, it is indispensable to regularly replace the deposition prevention plate that prevents the deposition onto a vacuum chamber or a target of a sputtering chamber and to regularly check the other mechanical systems and the like. Here, FIG. 13 shows a general configuration of a conventional deposition apparatus. Maintenance work on a sputtering chamber 34 is done in a state with cathode members 80 provided with targets being reclined from the sputtering chamber 34 as shown in FIG. 13.
However, in a deposition apparatus 110 with a configuration where a cathode member 80 reclines from the sputtering chamber 34 toward an atmosphere transfer system 115, a lower support mechanism and an upper support mechanism of a conveyor 40 are immovable. Therefore, a spacing between the vacuum treatment apparatus 113 and the atmosphere transfer system 115 are required to be spaced so that the cathode member 80 and the atmosphere transfer system 115 do not overlap when seen in a planar view. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, it is necessary to broaden an inner court 117, leading to a problem of an increased installation area required for the deposition apparatus 110. Furthermore, recent years have seen progress in upsizing glass substrates. Accordingly, a maintenance mechanism 111 of the cathode member 80 have been upsized, leading to a problem in that it is obligatory to secure a wider inner court 117.